This blog post was updated on October 18, 2018.
You’ve heard the Flipper theme song too many times to count, but how much do you really know about the bottlenose dolphin? These stunning, powerful creatures are a sight to behold. Here are a few basic facts about the ever-smiling bottlenose:
Natural habitat: warm and temperate seas worldwide
Protection status: Secure
Population: Unknown (though there are quite a lot of them)
Size: Between six and 12 feet long. They can weigh anywhere from 300 to 1400 lbs.
Life span: 40 to 50 years
Diet: small fish, crustaceans, and squid
Personality: Bottlenose dolphins can be the life of the party. Considered very social, they typically swim in groups of 10 to 25.
Fun fact: They’ve got a lot of brain –literally. On average, a bottlenose dolphin brain can weigh up to 1,600 grams. To put that into perspective, a typical human brain weighs up to 1,300 grams.
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